Another Streetrat
by TheBloodRedRuby
Summary: Money is an advantage that often goes hand-in-hand with looks. They at least function similarly. When a streetrat who comes into an inheritance meets a poor sap in a new body, both sides of this coin come to light. Besides, Hostel had a wider reach in its establishment than just a handful of orphans. What part could a sudden heiress have played in the gang? Lookism fanfic
1. Chapter 1

Poppy had her typical levity as she dropped her brothers off at daycare and middle school on her way to high school. Well, perhaps it was heightened, for all their first days at such institutions. Nevermind it being the second semester or J High being a low-level vocational school notorious for hoodlums. It wasn't anything that she couldn't handle, that she hadn't handled before. Though she would have preferred somewhere a little farther from her old stomping grounds, but she was certain it wouldn't cause her much trouble, if any at all.

Besides that, she was excited for her fashion course. Clothes were a consistent passion since childhood, and school would serve as a welcomed escape from the demanding business she inherited from her father.

Even now, since learning her department allowed variations in uniform, she had sewn herself a maroon button-down to complement the blue freshman tie and gray skirt. Glints of bronze matched her buttons to her shoes, to her belt, to her watch, to her nails, to her jewelry. She took a very distinct glee in dressing up, no matter the occasion, and had an eye for colors and their supplements. Thinking of all the time she'll have to set aside to sew for her classes had her bouncing in her seat.  
As the car slowed at the school gate, she gushed, "Bye, Mom," to Ji Ah, who definitely was not her mother at only eight years older.

"Don't make yourself a nuisance," Ji Ah sighed with smile.

"Me? A nuisance? Never."

"Sure. I'll be at the studio with Gi all day. Don't worry about her."

"I won't. I'll just get the boys." Poppy opened the door and hefted her backpack onto her shoulder. Making sure she had her overstuffed notebook and a pen in one hand, she swung her legs out.

"You have your lunch, right?"

"Nope," she called from outside the car and swung the door shut, waving off a honk as she entered the gate.

Immediately, Poppy remembered why she used to be so glad for not going to a public school. The confidence and enthusiasm she had in the car muted into a steady strut, though she became more and more self-conscious with every girl she saw. Was she the only one in heels? Did she dress up too much for school? How casual was she supposed to dress? She swept at her bangs, giving them a light tug to settle her thoughts. They were only kitten heels, and overdressed was better than underdressed. It would probably help if she did not feel as if all eyes were on her.

Surely no one was truly staring at her; from the looks she managed to steal at her classmates without being caught, the boy walking ahead of her was drawing the stares and dropping jaws. From her limited rear view, he was tall and fit: nothing to complain about. Standard uniform with well-loved sneakers and bag told her she was excessively embellished. Shit, she was making a spectacle of herself. Knowing better than to let her chin drop, she lowered her gaze to follow the boy's heels into the building. Her fingers made quick work of removing her earrings, bracelets, and rings and tucking them into a side pocket in her bag.

She trailed slowly after the wonderboy into the building, pulling a map from the many loose pages in her notebook. Insane how big this school was, for being only vocational. Finding her spot of entrance on the map, she followed the halls and stairs to the highlighted room labeled Fashion Design. The click of her heels was grounding, a reassurance in wearing them. Wonderboy had stayed with her, at times stopping and lagging behind like he was trying to figure out which way to go.

One turn from the room, she turned and looked back at him. Ooh, cute.

"Are you in the fashion department?" He startled and stumbled over speaking. She leant against the wall with her hip and shoulder.

"Yeah, I-I just transferred here. I'm not quite sure where to go."

"I transferred, too! Same department, it's just around this corner." She rolled her back across the wall, around the corner, and took the turn, hearing Wonderboy's footsteps pick up to catch hers.

"My name's Daniel," he said once he reached her side.

"Hi, Daniel. I'm Poppy. Let's be friends!" She worried that the sugary tone was a little too geared toward younger kids, but he lit up at the offer.

"Yes, friends!" Her shoulders eased and she breathed easy for the first time that day. Being alone was not the worst thing that could have happened today, but she was glad there was at least one go-to companion, at least for today.

"Us transfers gotta stick together. They're gonna eat us alive. Especially you with that face," she laughed as they came up to the teacher. Chatter spilled out through the doorway, and a fresh rush of apprehension washed over her. When was the last time she spent so much time in a room with so many her own age? Poppy remembered to bow and glanced at Daniel to find a light panic splayed across his face. "It was a joke," she whispered as the teacher walked in to introduce them. "You'll be fine, Daniel."

"The teacher is here!" They both jumped at the shout, though Poppy was able to giggle through the nerves.

"Quiet!" The teacher's demand hardly dented the noise. "We have two new transfer students." Speculation rose the murmuring. "Come on in." Poppy slid the door open and gestured for Daniel to walk through first. The talking stopped dead when they walked in, and her skin prickled at the certainty of attention of her. Coming to a stop beside Daniel in front of the class, she clasped her hands in front of her.

"I'm Daniel Park. Nice to meet you." He shifted uncertainly beside her. Ah, not a fan of attention, either.

"And I'm Poppy Bai." She found a vague point at the back wall and focused on it, keeping the guise of looking out at her classmates.

"There are a couple empty seats," the teacher said. "Decide amongst yourselves."

"I'll take the one in the back," Poppy muttered to Daniel with a grin, hiking her bag higher on her shoulder. As he filed after her down the aisle, whispering surged. It was mostly about him from the girls, but Poppy caught a few directed toward herself as she sat. Her short hair, her heels, if her watch was a brand: most were just inquisitive. The few instances of 'cute' and 'pretty' made her blush, feeling almost nostalgic. Maybe high school would be more fun than just downtime.

As she sunk into the empty seat in the back, she glanced at the boy she sat next to for the first time. With the blond bangs hiding his face above his nose, she had a hard time telling if he was looking back at her. But when she mouthed "Hi," around a smile, he responded with a slight tilt to his mouth and a flick of a wave. She opened her notebook to where she left off, scribbling a line between the last paragraph and '_I'm Poppy. What's your name?_' She pushed the notebook toward him and hovered her pen over the question until he moved as if to read it. Her attention turned toward a pretty girl standing and walking over to Daniel; she nearly jumped when warm fingers slipped the pen from her hand. Pulling her hands into her lap, Poppy watched her deskmate jot a single word and drop the pen into the crease. He brushed the notebook back to her.

_Jay_

Poppy grinned; as Daniel's deskmate raised his voice at the girl in front of them, she leant slightly toward him and whispered, "It's nice to meet you, Jay."


	2. Chapter 2

Time ticked by effortlessly through the welcome back proceedings, broad platitudes of expectations for the rest of the year eating away the morning. The shrill ringing of the bell spooked Poppy; she startled enough for her pen to streak across the page she was filling. Embarrassment tinged her cheeks at the couple snickers she caught beneath the din of the classroom packing up. "I'll have to get used to that," she mumbled with a laugh, glancing over to see if Jay found it funny, too. He offered a sympathetic smile and shrug.

"Hey, Poppy."

Daniel stood right next to her desk, the pretty girl from earlier in tow.

"Hey, what's up?"

"You wanna sit together at lunch? Us transfers gotta stick together." She grinned.

"Of course!" She looked past him and met the girl's withering glare. "Will you be joining us?" Daniel looked back at her, and the dirty look gave way to a pleasant mien.

"If you don't mind! My name's Zoe, by the way."

"It's a pleasure, Zoe. The more, the merrier, as they say." Poppy turned around. "Wanna join us, too, Jay?" He seemed caught off guard by the invitation but gave a single nod after a moment. He accepted Daniel's outstretched hand as he introduced himself personally. "Great! Let's go, then."

Zoe led the way to the cafeteria, lugging Daniel along by the arm. Poppy followed close enough behind to ensure they looked like a group, with Jay just out of sight in her peripheries. She scanned the faces they passed, most already turned toward Daniel. Letting some of her old hostility leech back into her expression, she refused to be to first to break eye contact with the few that were looking at her. So far, no familiar faces, which was good, but she had to keep looking. Even one person recognizing her could wreck shit; knowing herself, she would drop high school altogether if this single attempt failed. Maybe she would even pull her brother from his school, with it being so close. Another week of high alert, maybe two, would hopefully be enough to glimpse everyone, then she could settle into day cycles of being an ordinary student. She physically crossed her fingers over her notebook, wishing for such luck.

Entering the cafeteria, Poppy tapped the back of Daniel's shoulder with her knuckle.

"I'll go find us a table to sit at."

"You're not getting lunch?" He struggled to stay in place as Zoe tugged him toward the lunch line.

"Forgot mine at home." The other three went to grab their trays while Poppy found an empty table, just off the center of the room. Of course.

But all the ones lining the walls were already occupied, and was it not the point to invite others to join? Unfortunately, with the way Zoe had already claimed her territory and was now defending it, that whole purpose seemed moot. At least she had two, maybe two and a half acquaintances to keep her company. She sat and opened her notebook to mindlessly skim the filled lines, trying to find a suitable posture to keep from being approached while not coming off as too intimidating to approach in the future. She fought the old habits of putting her head down on her arms or looking up at anyone from beneath her eyebrows: the two things that labeled her 'mean' as a child.

Soon enough, Daniel plopped down on one side of Poppy, Zoe keeping his attention in the other direction, and Jay sat on her other side. The former was occupied, and the latter already came across as the silent type, but just their amicable presences set her at ease.

Her phone buzzed in her skirt's waistband, and she pulled it out to find a text from her brother, Mason.

_***Yo this school***_

Underneath was a picture of him with a trio of pretty girls leaning against and over his shoulders, all four of them beaming. She held down laughter, still catching Jay's attention.

"My brother," she explained half-heartedly. After a beat of reading his knowing smile, she asked, "Can we take a selfie, Jay?" When his shoulders jumped up in surprise, she quickly followed it with, "You can say no, don't worry. There's no pressure." Yet he still agreed with nod. "Great, thanks." Opening the camera on her phone, Poppy scooted to overlap their shoulders slightly. She reached her arm behind him to steady herself and rested a closed fist on his shoulder blade, not wanting to assume to touch him any more than that. He seemed fine with it, smiling and holding up a peace sign. Poppy flashed a toothy smile and took a few photos quickly. Moving back to her space, she flicked through them for the best. "So cute. You look great."

She missed his reaction when someone hollered, "Hey newbie!" Both Poppy and Daniel looked behind them at three fellow freshman mean-mugging. She did not recognize any of them and felt it safe to guess they were not coming at her like that. "We need to talk after lunch." After another moment of posturing, they walked away.

Pulling an exaggerated grimace, she chuckled, "Good luck with that." Daniel looked far more rattled than she would have expected. Did he think they were gonna fuck him up? _Were_ they gonna fuck him up? He was definitely fit enough to defend himself, but maybe he never needed to in the past. Or maybe he just refused to fight back? Or maybe just an anxious fighter? With the school's reputation for thugs, she was interested in seeing her hypotheses tested. Vaguely, she acknowledged that was a terrible thing to wish on a potential friend, but there were just some aspects of how she survived the last decade that would forever be second nature. Better to know how someone can fight from watching instead of participating.

Poppy looked back to her phone and responded to Mason with the pic of her and Jay,

_***SAME***_

Just after, her phone buzzed with another text from Ji Ah.

_***They better have given you a lunch break by now.***_

_***Yes mom am at lunch***_

_***How's it so far?***_

_***Alright. Not the only transfer. Plus pretty people***_

_***Ooo let me see***_

"Hey, Daniel, can I take a picture of you?" The question stole his attention from Zoe, and she sent a dark look.

"Why do want a picture?"

"Because you're pretty." She grinned at the light blush on him and the almost sneer on her. "Plus, my friend owns a photography company and is always looking for pretty people. You should get in, too, Zoe. You could be a model." At her name, Daniel looked over his shoulder, and her expression immediately smoothed out into a smile.

"Sure! Come on, Daniel, smile!" He leant back a bit, and she leant forward onto the table. With a mumbled 'sorry' to Jay, Poppy tilted back to get Daniel's tall figure in frame.

"Thanks, guys." She sent both pictures to Ji Ah, quickly getting a response. She must have been on break, too.

_***Noice***_

_***The only appropriate response***_

"Well," Daniel started reluctantly, standing with his tray, "I guess I should go…talk with those guys."

"Have fun," Poppy chirped. In his wake, Zoe just looked at the other girl for a moment. "What's up," she prompted.

"I'm going to hang out with my friends."

"Go 'head. I'm not stopping you." Zoe left with her tray, and Poppy watched her leave with a passive amusement. She sort of liked Zoe, in a distant, charmed manner. She at least understood her tactics. If Poppy could convince her she was not after Daniel, Zoe would probably like her, too. With a shrug, she flipped her posture toward Jay.

"And then there were two." Again, no words, just a smile. "Hey, if I'm ever, y'know, too much, just let me know. I can definitely tone it down." He was already shaking his head. "I just don't want to make anyone uncomfortable, least of all my friends." His hands joined in denying until the last word, when he stopped before motioning between the both of them. "Are you asking if we're friends?" He nodded. "I'd like to think so. Or at least we're working toward being friends." Flashing his strongest smile of the day, he gave another firm nod. "Good."


	3. Chapter 3

The rest of school drudged on for Poppy, probably because she was running on fumes. She could still function most of the day on just sleep, a remnant of her past lifestyle. Most mornings, she could not even stomach food. A learnt pleasure in the feeling of an empty stomach made going until dinner without food not entirely miserable, as long as she had something to keep at least her brain active. And maybe a snack at some point.

But here she was, slogging through a break that had quite a few others out cold at their desks. Though it was tempting, sleep would be the final nail in the coffin of the day, and she still needed to do so much, _so much_, after picking her brothers up. Just the thought of enduring the walk and then most likely hours of paperwork made her dizzy. Mason definitely would not say no to more food; that boy was always starving. Oh, but maybe he would want to hang out with the instant friends he always seemed to make. Maybe he would just be so exhausted and want to sleep.

Even thinking of someone else's sleep was draining, and her half-lidded eyes tracked Zoe as she crept up to Daniel's desk. Just as her chin settled in her palm, slipping into unconsciousness, Daniel woke with a loud,

"FUCK!"

Being jarred awake, she nearly shouted back in a knee-jerk reaction. She managed to clamp down on her tongue quick enough and morph the yell into a cough. This was a school, not an abandoned-house-turned-hangout: the top dogs here were the rules and principal and teachers, and she needed to not challenge any of that. She was here for the illusion of an average high schooler, not to invoke her wily past. No stranger to staging a persona, it was not such a tall task to play a part, especially one close enough to her actual personality.

Yet the notion of having to resist every vestige of the past decade, of having to comb over every instinct and action to ensure it was not too unseemly for the setting, embodied the exhaustive, repetitive behavior of her new work from which she had enrolled here to catch a break. And she knew this in-between of her unfiltered homelife and her picturesque business persona would help soften her vulgarity so her future was less performing and more being. But she still resented the need to change herself.

That bitter bite to her thoughts lingered through the rest of the school day, weighing on her brow until it painted a scowl. When the final bell rang, Poppy tempered her expression as she waved goodbye to Daniel and Jay, as well as the small group of girls that had invited her out shopping on the weekend. She loved the ease of such surface-level friendships and looked forward to the random days out to come.

She swept down the halls and stairwells, waking up as her heartbeat picked up, and checked the faces that passed. Still no one, if her tired brain was to be trusted. Flying past a window on the second floor, she froze and backtracked to look out.

Mason stood just inside the school's gate, crowded by a group of girls despite his middle school uniform. He was taller than quite a number of boys in at least her department, but he was still clearly, _clearly_ their junior. But of course, he was not going to turn down the attention, especially if he could get something out of it. Which is what it looked like as the girls began fishing through their bags.

"This fucking boy," Poppy grumbled to herself, unaware of the towering body that had stopped before her until she nearly sprinted into his chest. Catching herself just before impact, she stumbled back and glowered up at him. Irritation snapped into shock, then near despair.

Eli _fucking_ Jang.

Three years barely changed him, the only visual difference being his hair, a bold purple sweep over that damned tattoo. That fucking H that started the worst cycles of her life. Instinctively, she reached for her neck, fingers a cold jolt through the hazy terror. He obviously recognized her in turn. In his entourage of girls, a flurry of questions for both him and Poppy, he gaped down at her. She had no idea how her sudden absence from the streets was explained to those who remained, but he must not have expected to ever see her again. Death seemed the easiest way to sweep her under the rug, but she had no intention of sticking around for this feral boy's reaction to being lied to. Not when she could not afford to fight back with this audience. She brushed away questions and almost knocked a girl over as she dashed for the exit.

She had to get out of here. She had to get _Mason_ away from here.

The hard click-clack of her heels softened in the grass, and she tried to mute her breathing. Old habits died hard, and memories of Min Joon's hands at her throat and mouth to silence her now choked her.

A soft grip hooked at her shoulder, and she reacted violently enough to throw herself to the ground. It was Jay, unsure if he had made her fall, holding out a hand to help her up. She knew eyes were on her from the tumble, so she scrambled to her knees and used his arm to leverage herself up, way too in his personal space. He blushed a bit and stepped her back, enough of a meet-cute performance to lessen the scrutiny around them.

"Sorry, sorry! I'm in a big rush. That's my brother." She pointed to Mason, who had taken notice of her scene. He quirked an eyebrow with an amused grin, but once she swatted toward him, he read the urgency in her posture and hoisted his bag off the ground and onto his shoulder. "And he has an appointment to make, so we have to run." Poppy glanced back and found Eli outside. Though he made no insistent moves from his group, he kept glancing over in the midst of what looked like a farewell. She turned back to Jay to find him looking at Eli, too. She grasped his shoulder and flashed a warm smile. "I'll see you tomorrow, Jay!"

Except she would not. As she took off again after Mason disappeared, she already knew she would not risk a second appearance here. That would definitely be a death wish, to pop back up again in his new turf. Since when was central Seoul claimed by a territory, though? Fuck it, Ji Ah was going to have some questions to answer.

Poppy breezed past the girls who had flocked around Mason, offering a wave, a beam, and, "Leave him alone. He is thirteen." Outside the gate, she found her brother lightly jogging back toward his school, the direction where the daycare was. She powerwalked after him until they got far enough from the general afterschool traffic, then she raced up to him and clamped a hand on the back of his neck to bow his head.

"I told you not to show up here," she menaced through clenched teeth.

"What's wrong? Who is it?"

"Eli Jang." His stride stuttered, and she released his neck to loop their arms. He had seen the beast in action plenty.

"_Fuck_."

"It's bad enough he recognized me. If he saw you and connected that you go to school around here-." She skipped a couple steps to kick off her heels and swept them up.

"I'm sorry."

"We just need to get Nolan and get home." Making steady pace at a half-run, she dug through her backpack and fisted the knife she found into his hand. "Your main priority, now." She shoved her shoes in her bag.

"Nolan and me." He flicked open the knife and slid the handle up his sleeve, hiding the blade in a loose fist.

"Good, you run if he catches up and wants to start shit. Find a crowd of adults and call Ji Ah." Her fingers brushed over her skirt, feeling for another knife strapped with decorative band to her thigh. She almost decided against wearing it this morning. That could have been her death.

"Tell her Lotus Flower."

"Exactly. Smart boy. Let's slow down." They were far enough that running made them conspicuous. Still at a brisk step, they caught their breaths and smiled at strangers to ease suspicions. A block from the daycare, Mason pulled a makeup compact from a side pocket in her bag and handed it to her. She flicked it open and brushed a thumb over her bottom lip, angling the mirror over her shoulder. And there was Eli.

"Fuck," she gasped as she pivoted, giving her brother back the compact. Here was a better spot than around the next corner; a handful of eyes were here to deter him. She shuffled between him and Mason and felt fingers knot in the back of her shirt. "What do you want? Leave us alone." Her projected distress drew more onlookers. This was a familiar role: a young girl being harassed by a boy who could not take no for an answer. This was the act that saved her the most in her youth, the one that had strangers stepping in to her defense. Though she doubted Eli would hesitate to knock anyone's teeth in, it could provide the time needed to flee or strike first. She still was not sure which she would go for yet.

"…Poppy, right? I remember you." She nearly flinched at his voice, her body seized once again by the sickly dread of not knowing if she would survive this encounter, of knowing full-on she would kill this ass if he threatened Mason. "While I do have some questions, I'm not quite following you. I think we just have a similar destination." He advanced a few steps, and Poppy's body wound tight enough to snap a spring.

"Go, Mason."

"He'll kill you."

"Listen to me and _go_." She reached a hand back and shoved at him, his knife nicking her palm. That decided his fight-or-flight for him, and he rocketed down the street, out of sight in an instant. "What bullshit are you spewing?" Her hand hiked her skirt up one leg and raked the knife free. Eli raised his hands, and there was something so purposely disarming about his milquetoast demeanor that gave off the opposite of the desired effect. He was a performer, too. He knew how to work strangers into his favor. But she knew better than to trust that pretty smile, because she had seen those teeth rip flesh. "I'll scream for help, I swear it!"

"Not kill me? Such a change." She raised her knife higher, into view of bystanders. "You're not the only one who's trying to escape that life still." That gave her pause.

"What do you mean?"

"Walk with me to the daycare and I'll explain."

"How the fuck do you know where I'm going?" Nervous chatter surrounded them, and she was thankful for enough of a difference between how she looked for business and her how she looked now. No doubt there would be at least one video online of this encounter.

"There was that baby always on your hip, I remember. Nothing much else out here that I could guess you were going to." She settled a bit, but still pointed the blade at him. "Listen, I wanted a different life, too."

"You have no clue why I left."

"You're right. I thought Gun killed you. But you're here, and you're going to school. Seems like a different life to me."

"…Fine, whatever." He made to wedge his way around her radius.

"Listen, I have to pick someone up. We can walk together and settle things so we can survive J High without bothering each other. If I pull anything, I promise to let you kill me." He laughed under the last phrase.

"I don't need to be allowed to kill you."

"Then you have nothing to fear, right?" She glimpsed in his smile who he might have been before he was recruited, before Hostel became more than just another cluster of runaways calling themselves a family. Or maybe it was just who he had become since then. That in itself deserved a chance. She snapped the knife closed.

"Excuse me?" Poppy whipped around and made the stranger stagger back. "M-Miss, is everything alright?" She glanced back to Eli for a moment before returning with a bubbly smile,

"Oh, yes, sir! It was a misunderstanding. I'm sorry for worrying you." She and Eli bowed in apology, and that eased the tension on the street. "Alright," she muttered, stowing the knife in the side pocket. "Let's hear it, then. What made Big Daddy leave?"


	4. Chapter 4

Mason blanched when Eli stepped into the daycare, believing the worst scenario played out. Nolan whined and thumped him in the chest when his grip tightened almost painfully, though he quickly understood the nature of the situation when Mason covered his head with his hand and pressed him flat to his shoulder. Mason leveled a spitfire glare at Eli, eyes glassy and about to spill over. Eli raised his hands in surrender and quickly took a sidestep to show Poppy coming in behind him. She surged forward and took Nolan, running a hand through Mason's hair as she moved them to stand against a wall.

"Hey, hey, it's alright," she said in a hush as Nolan finally caught up to the mood and began to cry. She swept a thumb under Mason's eyes despite no tears having fallen. "He's okay. He's like us now, trying to get away from all that." She turned to the receptionist and gave a diffusing smile. The last thing she needed was to have to find a new daycare because she was deemed a troublemaker, especially since this was a temporary placeholder until she could find a private preschool nearby. The half-day kindergartens would not cut it when everyone now had a job or school. She briefly craved for the days when no one had anything to do and spontaneity reigned, when there was always someone available to fall back on.

Eli approached the desk and took the receptionist's attention away from them. He signed his name on the pick-up sheet and ducked down the hall past the desk. Back after a moment, a beautiful little girl, probably only a year younger than Nolan, gurgled happily on his hip.

Poppy trailed slowly as Mason dragged her outside. He definitely wanted to get away from Eli, a well-remembered compulsion, but she planted herself on the sidewalk outside of the building to catch another word with him. As Eli stepped out and found her waiting, instinct made them both step back, ensured they still obeyed the unspoken rule of distance from their past lives. Her eyes fell from his – hopefully a show of lessened aggression – and she beamed at the baby girl with a little wave.

"Does she talk yet?" Eli's hold tightened the slightest bit. He was much tamer than she was when it came to his daughter. She knew if anyone from the streets were so friendly with Nolan or Gi, she would be hard-pressed to remain even the slightest bit civil. With a sighed laugh as she looked back up at him, she realized that Eli was more well-adjusted than she was at this point. And she had a sneaking suspicion as to why. "Are you still in contact with anyone you knew?"

"No," came his brisk response, "and I'm determined to keep it that way." She let the bite of his words slide. Of course she was still going to be a tad wild, since she still surrounded herself with the runaways that raised her. Never mind that they all were adults now, pursuing careers and picturesque families of their own; there would always be something in her brain that channeled the monster child she used to be whenever she saw Ji Ah and the rest. Which meant she was probably better off not hanging around Eli here, like he wanted.

"How old is she?"

"She's three. Yours?" She could not remember if Eli knew Nolan was her brother and not her son.

"He just turned four."

"I'm four!" Nolan cheered, holding the number on his hand out to Eli. Despite how tight his countenance had become, he softened and smiled at the boy. Poppy fought an automatic sneer. Another glimpse past the persona. A real squishy at heart, then, huh? Poppy was thankful to recognize he would not try to start shit at school. Though he had already said as much, she knew better than to trust a streetrat's words, former or not. But seeing how protective he was of the girl, how just the sight of Poppy and her brothers grouped together now seemed to recall his fight-or-flight, she found her own desperation in him. Even yet, she wanted him to understand she still was not one to tolerate any funny business.

"…How's that knife wound treating you?" Eli blinked in surprise, one of his hands absently brushing over his side right below where his daughter sat. Though when he saw the lack of malice across her face, he realized the idleness of the upcoming threat.

"Still stings if I stretch wrong." There was a humored lilt to the answer, and Poppy smiled.

"Good, a reminder not to go after m-"

"'Me and mine,' yes, I remember." He glanced down at her teasingly vexed expression with a yielding grin. "Let's just agree to stay out of each other's ways."

"Perfect."

Poppy watched Eli trot off with his daughter – she forgot to ask her name – and felt a dirty nostalgia cloying in the back of her throat at encountering someone from before, from reverting back to old defensive tactics. She really had not changed as much as she had hoped, huh? Using that saccharine charm to insinuate threats, eyes finding every piece of debris along the walk that could be used to crack his skull or keep him from biting her. She remembered he was a biter, a little more than she was.

But there he was, a responsible father who sought to finish his education and worked to provide for his little family of two. And what difference did she have to sport in comparison? It sure as hell was not personal growth.

Mason tugged on Poppy's arm to get her walking. She glanced over at him, ran her eyes down to his hands as they carelessly flexed at his sides. Oh, he definitely was still stealing. Old habits die hard, she guessed. Poppy herself still struggled with the notion of living comfortably. Running the company in her father's place came with an absurd bank account, and even three years later, she was still hesitant to use anything but cash. And Mason remained reluctant to ask her for things, deciding stealing them himself was better.

It seemed the only change that occurred was their monetary means, and while it was pleasant not having to beg and extort for food, it just lessened the necessity of stealing instead of the urge to steal. When push came to shove, she reverted back to that punk, brat, degenerate that nearly died and killed trying to make sure her boys and Gi ate. No matter how she changed in appearance, how she tried to at least tint the inside into something more palatable, there would always be triggers that relapsed even her minimum progress. She would always be prepared to return to that life.

She thought back to Daniel, distraught by the possibility of violence. Maybe he was bullied when he was younger – for what, she had no idea – or witnessed a lot of fighting, and that dread of being a victim again was just ingrained in him at this point. Maybe his fitness was new and untested, and so his instincts still reacted as if he was defenseless. She liked that theory the best; it resonated with her just then.

A warm finger pressed between her brows to ease the furrow there, and she purposely scrunched her face up tighter. Mason laughed, and she came out of her thoughts enough to realize he had been singing as they walked. They were coming up to Ji Ah's studio and saw the woman out front with a handful of models.

"So…" Poppy turned to Mason as he sheepishly said, "Am I still banned from coming to your school?"

"I guess not, but I swear, if you start any trouble-"

"I won't!"

"-you'll be homeschooled until you graduate high school."

"I'll be good!"

"Why don't you just flirt with the girls at your own school? Like those girls in that picture?"

"'Cause flirting with high school girls gets me cred with the guys at my school. And what about that boy in _your_ pic, huh?"

"Uh uh, no turning this on me."

"Hey guys," Ji Ah hollered once she spotted them. "Mason, get dressed and help me with this shoot!" He nodded and jogged inside. Poppy walked up to Ji Ah and stood off to the side as she continued to snap pictures. "How was school?"

"Fine. After school, though…" Ji Ah stood from her crouch and looked back at her.

"Yeah, Mason texted me. You alright?"

"Peachy."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Anything else, please. Still cooling down."

"Okay, then what about that cute blond?"

"Look at the time," she said without a glance at her watch. "Noley, you hungry? Let's go inside." Ji Ah cackled as Poppy strut inside the studio, absolutely done with the day.


End file.
